Sport
30 January, 2026
Wattles player plucked by south Logan magpies
Mathew Christensen was spotted by a Wattles old boy at Old Boy’s Day, and after snagging an opportunity in Brisbane he isn’t looking back.
Mathew Christensen has been playing footy since he was six.
He’s played for Wattles his whole career.
Usually playing at centre, was where he got his first sniff of going pro.
At the Wattles’ Old Boy day at the end of the 2025 season one of the former players in attendance recognised Mathew’s talents and asked him where he wanted to go with footy.
Soon enough there were scouts from Souths Logan Magpies at his games.
Fast forward to 2026, after a close call in the premiership for A grade last year, Mathew is now in the Souths Logan Hostplus Cup squad for 2026.
Wayne Bennett, Mal Meninga and a swathe of other stars have come through the Souths pipeline.
The club, formed in 1908, was formerly known as South Brisbane.
The Hostplus cup, formerly the Queensland Cup, is the highest regional division before the NRL.
Over 21 players made their way up to professional contracts from the competition last year.
The 27 week competition includes 15 teams from across Queensland.
The Cup was last won by the Burleigh Bears who knocked off 2024 premiers Norths Devils.
It’ll be a big step up for the Wattle, but he’s keeping his head screwed on.
“My goals going into preseason was definitely to just put my head down and train hard, earn the respect of the coaches, the staff and players alike.”
Nonetheless he hopes to get a crack at a cup game this year.
When Mathew was asked what this all means to him, he mainly just spoke about how proud his family was.
He also largely credits his success to the support of his family.
“I know my parents especially were as proud as could be when I told them I was moving to Brisbane with a spot in the team.”
We wish Mathew all the best in chasing his dreams.
